College of William and Mary English professor Henry Hart ’76 has been named poet laureate of Virginia. Hart has published four books of poetry and books on poets such as Robert Frost (read an excerpt here).

Attorney Anthony Roisman ’60 has been appointed to a six-year term as chair of the Vermont Public Utilities Commission, which regulates rates and utility operating issues. The Weathersfield, Vermont, resident previously worked on nuclear energy and toxic waste litigation.

Michael Kirst ’61 will end his 50-year career shaping education policy when he retires as superintendent of the California State Board of Education at the end of the year. Kirst was one of the early policy experts on what became the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and has been Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief education advisor since 1975.

David Spalding ’76 has been appointed to his second five-year term as dean of the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business. He joined Iowa State in 2013 after serving eight years as senior vice president to the president and vice president of alumni relations at Dartmouth.

Gina Barreca ’79, an English and feminist theory professor at the University of Connecticut, has earned the 2018 American Association of University Professors Excellence in Research and Creativity Career Award. A professor at UConn since 1987, Barreca is also a columnist for the Hartford Courant and the author of 10 books.

Yuriko Jackall ’99 has joined the Wallace Collection in London as its curator of French paintings. Jackall, most recently the assistant curator of French paintings at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., will also continue her research on materials and techniques of 18th century artists.

Princeton professor Robert Karl ’03 has earned the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies’ Arthur P. Whitaker Prize, given for the best book published in the past two years. Karl’s Forgotten Peace: Reform, Violence, and the Making of Contemporary Colombia examines the apparent paradox between that country’s reputation for violence and its tradition of democratic governance.

Eileen Carey ’04 has been promoted to director of U.S. Paralympics Nordic Skiing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For the past four years Carey was head coach of the Nordic ski team, which earned a record 16 medals, including six gold, at the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games.